Wednesday, November 18, 2015

I
use the term ‘mantra’ lightly, as it’s not necessarily a prayer or incantation
I refer to, but the definition that says it’s is simply an often repeated word
or phrase.

To
me, your mantra is the word or phrase your mind plays back to you regularly.
For example, one might hear her own voice daily declaring, “I’m so fat, I’ll
never lose this weight….” Or, one might hear her inner voice telling her
something like, “I’m powerful, positive, healthy and strong!”

Which
voice is likely to empower you and help you to get the most out of your day?
Which is likely to take you in the right direction?

We
may
think we have a positive mantra because we want to be a positive
person. But, if things aren’t going as we want them to, or if people are less
than enthusiastic about hanging out with us, maybe we’d better take a closer
listen to what we tell ourselves every day.

(examinedexistence.com)

Admittedly,
it can be hard to make a positive profession about our weight when our jeans
get tighter every time we put them on. When everything around us seems to be
going wrong, it’s not always easy to declare, in a whisper, that we are
successful, happy people.

We
too often tend to look at our circumstances, and then – access the situation.
Our attitude can change our situations!

No
one else knows your secret thoughts, your hidden fears. Well, accept God
Himself. We can become masters of deceit when we don’t want the people around
us to know how we feel or what we’re thinking.

Never
really thought of yourself as deceitful? Me neither. But, who are we deceiving
more, those who surround us, who love us – or ourselves?

(silvieandmaryl.com)

Walk
past a picture window and glance at your reflection. What’s your immediate
response? Yes, the one that flashes through your mind before you clean it up to
tell me about it.

Granted,
if your physique isn’t something you struggle with, that might be a bad
example.

Maybe
you view the people around you as more powerful than yourself. Maybe you’re
intimidated by them. When the man from the next office over strides by with his
shoulders back like he owns the world, does that bother you?

Or
maybe, you think you’re better than him. Maybe your ego shouts over any voices
of intimidation.

(linkedin.com)

Okay,
so maybe I’m coming up with bad examples. What comes to your mind?

Where
is it hard to say something nice about yourself? Where do you find it hardest
to take compliments? Where is it most difficult to believe what God says about
you?

It
just could
be that the soundtrack playing your mantra has become so familiar to you, that
you don’t consciously hear it anymore. But, it’s still feeding you a lie. And
the part of you that’s being fed that lie is the part of you you’re least
comfortable with, it may even embarrass you.

So,
take a minute to listen. Hear what you say to yourself every day. The best
place to listen is in front of a mirror. Write it down. Is it good? Is it
something you’d proudly share with others?

Within
the secrets of successful people is tucked away a precious nugget that says
they can be who they want to be, because they already see themselves that way.

(prepare1.com)

If
I see myself as fat and lazy, I’m probably not going to find it easy to live
the life of a healthy, productive woman. Logical. But, we take our thoughts for
granted. Only we can change them, and it’s our choice to do so or not.

Where
will you start making changes today? That mantra won’t magically change
overnight. You’ll have to work at it. You’ve lived with it for how long now?

But,
let the changes begin right now!

You
might know what Jeremiah 29:11 says. You might know that God has good thoughts
of you; good plans for you. But, do you tie His hands with your own unbelief?
Do you sabotage His plans with your negative mantras and insecurities?

Whether
it seems easy to do or not, - trust Him.

(familytreecounseling.com)

“How precious also are they thoughts
unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are
more in number than the sand…” – Psalm 139:17 – 18 (KJV)

“For I know the thoughts that I think
toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an
expected end.” – Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV)

“For I know the plans I have for you,”
declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you
hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Friday, November 13, 2015

The
wise old man shared a pebble from his handful. Impetuously, she threw it into
the beautiful, calm ocean waters.

After
laughing and marveling over the ripples she made, she asked for another. Pebble
after pebble brought her great pleasure as she watch the ripples roll out into
the distance.

As
small waves began to mount, the old man threw his handful of pebbles far out
into the deep.

Now,
even happier with the waves than she was with the ripples, she teetered on the
sand, dodging the splashing water. Laughter rolled from her mouth as she chased
the waves, then turned to run away as they chased her.

(miriadna.com)

After
she'd had her fill of running and giggling and falling on the beach, she took
the old man's hand and they made their way to drier sand to sit down.

Soaked
and covered with sand, she plopped beside him and gazed up into his smiling
eyes; she admired him more than anyone else in the world.

She
laid back and asked again, "Father, you didn't answer me. What good are my
simple little prayers? How can they do anything?"

"Little
one, do you suppose there's a child in the sands on the other side of the
ocean?"

She
thought but didn't answer.

(deeperchristian.com)

"As
each of your pebbles plunked into the water, tiny ripples made their way out
into the ocean. Suppose those ripples sent waves to the other shore."

"And
she splashed and laughed as I did?" she asked with great anticipation.

They
looked out over the great body of water.

She
smiled and said softly, "Now, she's my friend!"

He
smiled down at her. "One little pebble did all that?" asked the old
man. "I wonder what one little prayer could do."

“…Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.” – James 3:4
(NIV)

Have you read The Butterfly Effect (How Your Life Matters), by Andy Andrews?

Now calledThe Law
of Sensitive Dependence Upon Initial Conditions, the Butterfly Effect began
as Edward Lorenz’s hypothesis that said: “A
butterfly could flap its wings and set molecules if air in motion, which would
move other molecules of air, in turn moving more molecules of air – eventually capable
of starting a hurricane on the other side of the planet.”

It’s a quick read,
minutes, actually. It makes a great gift to those who matter most in your life.

Since YOU matter so much in my
life, I’m giving away a copy of the book to one randomly chosen reader who
comments on this blog post, whether here on the actual blog site, or on
Facebook, my social media of choice.

Insignificant? No. I don’t
think so!

You’re impacting everyone.
Do it purposefully.

Borrowing a season from my
friend, “Happy Lovember”!

“It
is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of
Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also
make you a lightfor the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends
of the earth.”

This
is what theLordsays— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel— to
him who was despisedand abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers:

“Kingswill see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down,
because of theLord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosenyou.”

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

It’s
easy enough to list them out and expound on why they’re healthy habits.

(human-movement.com)

Exercise
– we all need exercise, even those of us who consider it a chore. Actually we’re
probably the ones who need it most. Exercise strengthens our muscles, helps rid
us of unwanted fat, give us energy, releases endorphins in our brains, relieves
stress and lets us prove to ourselves just how strong we really are. What’s not
to like about it? Yet, many of us don’t.

(pixbam.com)

Clean
eating – logical, common sense. When we eat “junk food” or convenience foods,
we’re filling our bodies with chemicals and toxins that can’t lead to anything
good except a temporarily content belly. Even our belly complains eventually.
That kind of eating leads to more body fat, which leads to other health
problems. It gives way to becoming sluggish and we lack desire to do anything.
Eating real foods that don’t count on chemicals for flavor and other addictive
traits contributes to healthier bodies that serve us better.

(theguardian.com)

Adequate
sleep – we know this, our bodies need to be well-rested to perform at their
best! Yet so many of us toss and turn well into the night, only to glare at the
blaring alarm clock just as we finally enter that restful phase of sleep. We need
to rejuvenate like we’re suppose to! I’m preaching to the choir leader here,
because I’m up late with the rest of you. But, we know better.

A
list of healthy habits could quite long, but this next one could potentially be
the healthiest habit we can adopt: thankfulness. Can we make a habit of being
thankful? Can we become grateful for all we have instead of daydreaming about
all we want?

Think
about it. If we purposefully wake up every single morning and reach for that
attitude of gratitude before we even put on our glasses, before we stumble to
the bathroom, before we throw the covers off – what benefits could we quickly
see unfolding in our day?

(crosscards.com)

Every
November we pull out our lists of what we’re thankful for and post them on
social media for all the world to see. And, yay – sharing them is great! But,
what if this year, we put a little more pondering into our gratitude?
It’s pretty easy to write out a list of things we thank God for, perhaps even
getting carried away with how long our list is becoming. If while we’re writing
out that list, or even just composing it in our minds, we actually take the
time to say thank You to Him, the list making might take longer and be
even more fulfilling.

Plus,
He loves to hear from us!

If
it’s not a habit already engrained in our lives, it’s an addiction that will
benefit all of us. Making new habits is much easier than breaking old ones. It
makes sense that building new habits that will eventually replace our bad
habits will erase the need to battle the ones that were dragging us down.